The Halliburton Agenda: The Politics of Oil and Money (Hardcover)

by Dan Briody (Author)
Key Phrases: cementing company, higher dam, oil infrastructure, Herman Brown, George Brown, Lyndon Johnson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Despite their shared preference for keeping a low profile, Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton, his former employer, gained notoriety in the aftermath of the war in Iraq thanks to a series of lucrative government contracts awarded to Halliburton, for which they never had to bid. Business journalist Dan Briody sheds light on the history of the company and demonstrates how its present-day relationship with influential politicians is not anomalous but part of a time-honored yet ethically suspect tradition of doing business. Briody introduces Erle Halliburton, who was born into poverty but found great financial success with innovative oil well technology. And while Halliburton avoided getting close to elected officials or pursuing government contracts, the Brown brothers of Texas-based Brown & Root made the nurturing of "pet politicians" a top priority as they grew their construction business into one of the most powerful in the nation. The Halliburton Agenda details the mutually beneficial relationship the Browns shared with an up and coming Lyndon Johnson as money and influence flowed freely between the two. Halliburton acquired Brown & Root in 1962 and with it, Briody contends, plenty of questionable business practices that continue to this day. Dick Cheney looms ominously on the book's cover but he doesn't appear much in the book until fairly late in the Halliburton story. Still, because Cheney's early-1990s' appointment to the job of CEO (after no private sector experience) and departure to be Vice President in 2000 coincided with an upsurge in Halliburton revenues and controversies, there's plenty of material to examine. While many have questioned what sway corporations have in the George W. Bush administration, Briody's extended look at Halliburton's corporate culture and history provides enlightening perspective. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly
Following hard on the heels of The Iron Triangle, an examination of international consultants the Carlyle Group, Briody turns his considerable investigative skills to the rise of the Halliburton Corp., its subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root and the transformation of the U.S. military establishment. With a blunt matter-of-fact tone, Briody describes the rise of the two companies from the dusty oil fields of west Texas to the marbled corridors of power in Washington, D.C. Briody contends that Halliburton and KBR have literally bought politicians, manipulated the contracting process and ridden the current wave of small wars to record profits. Small, detailed moments of intense private pressure and unscrupulous backroom deal-making dominate this story. While Briody seethes with indignation, there is a grudging respect for the skill with which the executives and politicians ply their trade and a bitter resignation at the reality of the ways of government contracting. Central to the Pentagon's post–Cold War strategy is outsourcing nonmilitary tasks to private contractors. One of the chief architects of this plan was Dick Cheney, defense secretary for the first President Bush. Briody argues that with Cheney now vice-president and Halliburton awarded a huge no-bid contract to reconstruct Iraq's oil fields, public outrage has grown. As the controversy simmers, Briody raises an important question: with Americans and Iraqis dying by the day, have military matters become so efficient and profitable for companies like Halliburton that war itself is easier to wage? At times the book is repetitive and has the feel of being rushed to press, but this urgency lends the book a certain gravity. Briody has his own agenda—brilliantly illuminating the increasingly crucial nexus of public need, private profit and war making.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (May 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471638609
• ISBN-13: 978-0471638605
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's who you know?, May 24, 2004

By	Robert M. Logan (Folsom, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Regardless of your political persuasion, I recommend The Halliburton Agenda. Author Dan Briody follows Erle Halliburton's career from the oil fields as a driver in the early 1900's to the boardrooms where in the 1920's Halliburton was already a millionaire. During the same era brothers, Herman and George, founders of Brown & Root, the predecessor of the modern day Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) that is now a subsidiary of Halliburton, began as road builders and garbage haulers in Texas and graduated to dam builders and became a major government contractor as they learned to work the political system.

The ties between the Brown brothers and politicians, most notably Lyndon Johnson, are revealed in some detail. It is a fascinating view. The ups and downs of KBR are followed through the decades as the construction firm lands contract after contract.

Early on, author Briody makes a strong effort to keep his opinions - if not his perspective - off the pages. Unfortunately later in the book, he does not stick to the facts, but occasionally opines. An example of this editorializing is found on page 211 when discussing Dick Cheney Briody states "Either way, he's not the man I want bending the president's ear on a daily basis." I would have preferred coming to that conclusion on my own.

Overall, the book has a good deal of balance with Briody giving space to others praising Halliburton's while raising questions about the LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) design and bidding process.

I like timelines, charts and pictures. Unfortunately, this book has none. A timeline of the successes and failures with a listing of the contracts would be a nice addition to the book. Also, photographs of the major players and construction projects would add flavor.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Political back scratching and war profiteering..., June 18, 2005

By	C. Middleton (Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Political cronyism has been part and parcel of western democracy since the hay days of the Roman Empire. It is extremely naïve to believe otherwise, "jobs for the boys"; political portfolios for the "mates", and lucrative contracts for family members are an unfortunate aspect of the system, which has not changed, and will not change, in the foreseeable future. Moreover, another unfortunate reality is that war is good business. One only has to look back at the Civil War, those "damn Yankee carpet baggers", filtering down from the north at the end of the war and exploiting the defeated Southerners, in the name of "reparations". Many made a fortune from the defeated south, just as a few companies are currently making millions from the spoils of the Iraqi war. What Briody calls in this book, the "iron triangle", the collusion of government, military and corporations, he targets the Halliburton Corporation and its subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root, describing a long history of political back scratching, war profiteering, illegal campaign contributions, and a long and lucrative relationship with key political figures, such as Lyndon B. Johnson and currently, Vice President Cheney, which is making a few individuals extremely rich, unjustly, from the hard earned tax dollars of the American people.

Most of the book is devoted to illustrating the business history of Halliburton and Brown & Root, providing a long and entrenched business practice of political back scratching through illegal campaign contributions, in this case, the long and successful relationship between Lyndon B. Johnson and the Brown brothers through the 40's 50's, 60's, turning Brown & Root into one of the most successful construction companies in American history. The evidence of this collusion between the company and Johnson is without question. But the current relationship between Halliburton and Vice President Cheney, once CEO of this lucrative corporation, to my mind, is even more ethically devastating, as their relationship continues today, while the company has sole contractual rights with the government, supporting the military and "rebuilding" the war torn country of Iraq.

Why has Halliburton been given these lucrative contracts while other companies are pushed out of the bidding process? One can say that they have a proven track record of getting the job done, but there is also evidence of over charging (gas supplies to Iraq) that is currently under investigation. It is also well know that Halliburton has done business with known terrorist countries such as Libya, and manage to wriggle out of the legal spotlight. One would have to be a blind man not to see the connection between the Bush administration and these companies, no matter how many times Cheney denies the relationship exists in present time. As an ex CEO, he continues to be on their payroll and is in possession of numerous stock options. These facts should certainly raise a few red flags.

This book illustrates the political and corporate machinations that go on behind the scenes, and that "jobs for the boys" is an unfortunate reality of our system, and war, regrettably, is a profitable business option.

Recommended.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unholy Trinity Revealed, May 18, 2004

By A Customer

Who could believe the clandestine relationships betweeen big business, politics and the armed forces could exists to this degree outside of a Tom Clancy novel, but Briody reveals through careful research that indeed it does. This book was a real eye opener!